Mark Seabrook's identity is restored in the newspaper as Governor Holcomb comes to New Albany.

Because of this ...

More News and Tribune gimcrackery: 336 words about the importance of voters listening, two of which are not "Mark Seabrook."

 ... I'm surprised the News and Tribune's editor didn't intervene and correct the coverage -- so I've done it for her.

Indiana Gov. Holcomb visits Clark, Floyd counties, by Chris Morris (Bill Hanson's Pastor's Blog)

Attends fair, fundraiser for Seabrook  the GOP mayoral candidate

 ... Holcomb had plenty of energy left as he made his way to New Albany's Calumet Club after leaving Clark County. He came to give the New Albany Republican candidates for city office an endorsement, especially Seabrook  the GOP mayoral candidate, whom he praised for previously serving three terms each on the New Albany City Council and Floyd County Commissioners.

He said he will be back in Southern Indiana during his re-election campaign.

"I want folks to know it's pedal to the metal," he said.

Floyd County Republican Party Chairman Shawn Carruthers said he was thrilled to have the governor at the fundraiser.

"I will say we are elated," Carruthers said of the governor's appearance. "The governor is paying attention to New Albany for multiple reasons. We have a very good Republican ticket."

Seabrook  the GOP mayoral candidate said he was also pleased and thankful that Holcomb made time to make an appearance at the event.

"He just announced himself so he is killing two birds with one stone," Seabrook  the GOP mayoral candidate said. "He is a very personable guy."

Seabrook  the GOP mayoral candidate estimated that 100 people attended the fundraiser.

Got wood? A Twitter firestorm about Goodwood, Bevin -- and nothing at all.

Read carefully before jumping to a conclusion. We'll never make progress with sticky wickets if we don't examine them, because if the pitch isn't wet, the wicket isn't sticky.

The scene shown above (Gahan for Mayor signage in shop windows on Market Street) preceded by at least three weeks last evening's Twitter slug-fest over Goodwood Brewing's fundraiser for Matt Bevin, Kentucky's governor.

The question: Do independent business operators, whether Goodwood's Ted Mitzlaff, or New Albany's Terry Middleton and Jimmy Gaetano, have the right to support, endorse and display the signage of a particular political candidate?

Of course they do.

Will doing so offend customers?

Maybe. It might also attract customers, the point being that such a calculation is the independent business owner's (or ownership's) decision to make. I understand there might be numerous, more extreme counter examples -- for instance, what if Nazis are the fundraisers in question?

But in these two instances, the examples are not extreme. Both Bevin and Gahan are members of legally chartered political entities, and both came to power by means of (generally) fair elections. Nazis, Communists, personality cults and gay wedding cake refusenik bakeries are other cases for other, more in-depth and wider ranging discussions.

I've met Mitzlaff only once. He's far more of a capitalist than me, and quite capable of running the numbers. Consequently, there's nothing to see here.

Everyone pays lip service to capitalism, but I'm not sure how many Americans have a clear understanding of street corner capitalism at its most basic, as when they insist there somehow exists a "right" to better service at a chain restaurant drive-through, or demand that local government gift them with a Trader Joe's.

Do grassroots independent business owners/entrepreneurs have a right to attract or repel customers as they please, by taking "sides" politically when those sides are regarded as legitimate by most of us even if we disagree with specific tenets?

I think so.

If there's a backlash, it's also their right to handle it in their own way, at their own speed. As Dan Canon pointed out, Goodwood's response to Twitter criticism was to copy and paste, again and again.

Goodwood does not discriminate on any grounds including, but not limited to, race, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs. We are open to all regardless of political affiliation. We foster an atmosphere where ideas may be expressed, whether we are in agreement or not.

Yes, Goodwood loses style points for being robotic and avoiding individual replies, but my internal calculation revolves around this: Does the non-discrimination disclaimer ring true?

In my past dealings with Goodwood, irrespective of my feelings about the company's beer (generally favorable), has the brewery ever done anything to contradict the non-discrimination disclaimer, as copied and pasted?

Not to my knowledge, at least insofar as I've been aware -- and note that owner Mitzlaff's right-of-center political orientation is not exactly a secret.

Does holding a fundraiser for a sitting elected governor contradict Goodwood's non-discrimination disclaimer?

Is it a good idea for a business owner like Terry Middleton in downtown New Albany to take sides in the mayor's race?

Well, that's their calculation to make, and it's up to their customers to decide. Some of their customers have decided, to judge by Tweets directed against Goodwood.

It's as simple as that, and so this is one bandwagon I'm not hopping aboard, primarily because there are far more important issues.

For seven years I sat on the board of the Brewers of Indiana Guild, and -- surprise! -- my fellow board members represented a broad range of standpoints. Not all of them had tattoos and beards (in fact there were too few women and minorities, but I believe this imbalance has started shifting since I departed).

Some were right, some left. There were Clinton voters and Trump voters, hippies and button-downs. My takeaway is that for those of us preaching diversity, we must be prepared to live diversity in the real world -- or else, we're hypocrites. 

---

As a postscript, regular readers already will have located the main point as it pertains locally, this being to Terry and Jimmy posting partisan political signage downtown. I just wish they understood that they're privileged in being able to do so, because other downtown business owners like them, who might like to post White, Seabrook or Coffey signs, won't do so because they know from experience that Gahan's allegiance-obsessed City Hall would harass them.

Such harassment plainly occurred in 2015, and yet these two indies remain blissfully unaware. I acknowledge their "right" to be oblivious, but find it annoying all the same.

---

Democratic mayoral candidate David White understands that change begins with a whole lotta scrubbing, and NA Confidential advocates just such a deep civic cleansing. 

After eight years on the job, Mayor Jeff Gahan's list of stunning "achievements" is long, indeed: tax increases, budgetary hide 'n' seek, self-deification, daily hypocrisy, public housing takeover, non-transparency, pay-to-play for no-bid contracts, bullying city residents and bullying city employees. Eight years is enough. It's time to drain Gahan's swamp, flush his ruling clique and take this city back from Gahan's Indy-based special interest donors. 

NA Confidential supports David White for Mayor in the Democratic Party primary, with voting now through May 7. 

Don't forget Tuesday's "food and dining" memorial fundraising event honoring our friend, the late Matt Brewer.

A reminder about tomorrow's fundraiser. Check the list of a dozen participating establishments, have a bite, and clink a glass to a wonderful human being.

As many of you already know, a young man who skated the streets of New Albany almost daily, spreading warmth and kindness all around, was taken from us far too early.

Restaurants around New Albany have come together to honor his legacy and support his family in their time of need by offering a special night of memorial fundraising.

This Tuesday, join participating restaurants in memory and support of Matt Brewer and his family. Proceeds from sales will be donated to the Brewer family in peace and love.

Brooklyn and The Butcher
Gospel Bird
Hull & High Water
District 22 Pizzeria
Longboard's Taco & Tiki
Pints&union
Big Four Burgers + Beer
Floyd County Brewing Company
River City Winery
Double Barrel
Brownie's "The Shed" Grille & Bar in New Albany

#LiveLikeMatt -- and how you can help Matt Brewer's wife and family.

The cookies are from Sweets by Morgan, located at 533 Spring Street in Jeffersonville.

Starting Thursday August 9th at 10am we will have these cookies available at the shop until further notice.

There will be no price listed on these, we just ask that you make a cash donation. 100% of the money raised will be donated to the wife and family of an amazing man we all lost on Monday night.

Matt Brewer was a friend to all and enemy to none. He had a smile that would brighten your worst day and all of us here at Sweets by Morgan will now strive to #LiveLikeMatt.

If you are unable to stop by the bakery, please consider making a donation to the GoFundMe page. Every $1 helps.

At the GoFundMe page, $11,680 of the page's $10,000 goal has been raised by 248 people in one day. Get over there and add to the pot.

On behalf of Matt Brewer and to help Brook Brewer during this time, we are asking for any possible donation. The money will go towards any emergency and hospital costs, funeral and memorial service, and any extra help for Brook. Any amount at all will help the cause, and we all know Matt would have given the shirt off his back if he had one on.

Yes, indeed; we know it.

Look, I'm a jaundiced 58-year-old who has been blogging for 15 years come November. A few days ago, NAC's 13,000th post was published. Not one of them ever surpassed 11,000 page views, until the sad news came that we'd lost Matt, and I posted it.

That post?

So far it has 45,585 page views -- and 245 shares at Fb.

I'm not telling you about these statistics for any other reason than they numerically attest to the depth of love and affection we all felt for this wonderful guy. That's 45,000 page views -- and only 37,000 people in all of New Albany. That's an intensity of emotion unprecedented in my time observing local affairs.

As Andrew Nicholson pointed out earlier today, Matt's sad passing also has brought out the best in his people, who are rallying around Matt's family in this time of need. In like fashion, Andrew passes this along.

The ER at Baptist Floyd Hospital is having a cookout this Friday to benefit Brook Brewer and Matt, can you get the word out? $5 a plate can also help out with side dishes or any donations welcome. The night shift is also planning something for Saturday night, I will send details when available.

The local newspaper of record provides coverage of yesterday's gathering of hundreds at the skate park on the riverfront. There's a plan afoot to rehabilitate the skate park, and Matt was involved as a consultant. It is slated to be called the New Albany Flow Park, which is nice enough, but it's a replaceable name since overtaken by events.

By community acclamation, it's now the Matt Brewer Flow Park, or some similar wording of explicit recognition. I strongly encourage local powers that be to endorse this naming notion without further delay. Bureaucracy can be damned -- we all know Matt's name needs to be on a facility of which we all can be proud.

Let's not settle for less.

Loved ones remember New Albany man killed while skateboarding, by Chris Morris (News and Tribune)

Brewer remembered as a 'great guy'

NEW ALBANY — There was something special about Matthew Brewer according to those who knew him. He always had a smile on his face and a positive word to say.

"We always looked up to him, he had a lot of skating knowledge," Chris Flores said Tuesday afternoon at the New Albany Skatepark. "He was just a really nice guy. He was nice to everybody."

Flores, and other friends of Brewer's, attended a special gathering at the skatepark to remember their friend who was killed Monday evening around 9:30 at Spring and East Ninth streets from injuries sustained after being struck by a minivan while riding his skateboard.

The accident is still under investigation, according to New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey.

Judy Brewer and her husband David were at the skatepark Tuesday and were moved by the number of friends and acquaintances who showed up, many with skateboards in hand to honor their son, who had adopted skateboarding as a way of life ...

Hollingsworth? Nah. Local Democrats may be useless, but calling them out doesn't mean I'm a Republican.

Home sweet home.

With Tennessee Trey in town earlier today to raise funds (could he even find his way?) what can I add except this: let's always remember the famous Scottsburg town meeting, and the congressman's links to the Koch Brothers, and his desire to build walls ... but of course he's rich, and in our advancing oligarchy, the money's all that matters.

Hope you enjoyed the first Gilded Age.

Where is Trey Hollingsworth? Carpetbagging Congressman cancels first-ever town hall, angering constituents and emboldening opponents, by Christopher Rex (Medium)

They descended on Scottsburg under the cover of early-morning darkness, from all over Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District. They came from places like Mitchell and Bedford, Bloomington, Memphis, Floyds Knobbs, and more. They were teachers and construction workers, mental health counselors and high school students; retired postal workers and stay-at-home moms. One was a bundled-up third grader in a pink Colts stocking cap. They were there to speak face-to-face, finally, with their elusive representative, Congressman Trey Hollingsworth.

It was a small group, not more than 25 in number, and they were carrying signs with slogans like Protect Working Families; Stop Re-Writing the Tax Code in SECRET; and, most simply, #SHOWINGUP. They were exceedingly polite and civil in their actions, huddled together along South Lake Road North, trying desperately to keep warm as cars and trucks whizzed past in the dark, but they were angry, too, oh yes, and they had some questions they wanted the man representing them in Congress to answer.

Chuck Sebastian, a local barber, wanted to know who Hollingsworth was really working for, the people of the Ninth District, or the large donors that the tax bill would benefit the most; Barbara Burton, a cancer survivor, wondered if Hollingsworth and the GOP would be coming for her Medicare next; High school senior Dylan Baker had the $1.5 trillion deficit in mind when he asked why he and his generation were being asked to pay, tomorrow, for rich people’s tax cuts today; Roger Pedigo, a construction worker, wanted to know why we weren’t investing in infrastructure — the roads and bridges he helps build — while his wife, Jennifer, wondered how her two daughters were expected to thrive, financially, with crippling student loan debt.

There was one singular question, however, that they all demanded an answer to:

Where was Trey Hollingsworth?

A handy attention-getter: "Want a More Progressive Democratic Party? Stop Donating to It."

Think of it as tough love.

As for Occam's Razor in everyday life: The reason for the gaping leadership void in the Floyd Democratic Party is precisely the absence of leadership, nothingness less, and nothingness more. Meet the new loss ... same as the old loss.

Want a More Progressive Democratic Party? Stop Donating to It, by Lawrence Hess (The Nation)

...  My wife and I are donors to progressive causes and candidates. Over the years we have also given to Democratic Party campaign committees in efforts—along with other progressive donors—to move the party in the progressive direction. Now we are through with that. We will not donate to any of the Democratic Party’s four campaign committees or any allied independent expenditure committees unless and until the party makes meaningful and substantial progressive changes regarding personnel, targeted voters, and agenda. We encourage all party donors, at whatever level, to join us.

The Vintage Fire Museum moved to Jeffersonville so that Gahan might monetize.

Fire engines aren't everyone's shtick, but it's worth remembering that the impetus for what is now a Vintage Fire Museum as situated in Jeffersonville came almost entirely from New Albanians, from the Conway collection's inception straight through to the museum's brief residency in the Coyle showroom.

As the corporate welfare housing project at the former auto dealership has unfolded behind Jeff Gahan's perennially closed doors, it has become far easier to understand the reasons for the shabby treatment accorded the fire museum's stalwarts by Gahan and his economic dishevelment chief David Duggins.

They had a two-for-one TIF/sewer waiver deal to be completed just in time for the 2015 political calendar, and so the fire museum was given the bum's rush. The museum may or may not have been a good fit at the Coyle site, but what's clear now is that it did not fit into Gahan's governance-by-monetization worldview -- after all, how on earth could a handful of geezers ever kick back campaign finance to the tune of fat cats like Flaherty Collins?

I'm happy to see the Fire Museum's ongoing progress in Jeffersonville, and even more delighted that Rick, Kim and the crew at Donum Dei stepped in to help with an event that I wasn't able to organize. Thanks, guys.

'Chili, Brats & Brew' celebrates Jeff fire museum, by Jenna Esarey (C-J)

Arts Council's Beer, Bourbon & BBQ 2015, Friday night at the Pepin Mansion.

I had every intention of doing more in the way of publicizing this event, but I haven't, and for this I'm apologetic. There's still time to buy tickets and attend. As you can see below, it's a first-rate lineup of food & drink vendors, artists and music. Alcoholic beverages will be available as samples, and at a cash bar. I'll be representing NABC, and talking beer instead of politics.

Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ 2015

Where: Pepin Mansion, 1003 E. Main St., New Albany, IN
When: August 28th, 2015, 6:00 p.m. -- 10:00 p.m.
What: Barbecue, bourbon, beer, live music, and artist demonstrations
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at the Arts Council.

Local restaurants "join the fight against addiction" to "raise money for The Healing Place."

July 22 is the date:

Dine Out and Support THP!

Join us on July 22nd as dozens of Louisville restaurants join the fight against addiction and raise money for The Healing Place.

Thus far, the only Southern Indiana restaurant on this list is Bread and Breakfast (157 E. Main Street in New Albany). Thanks, Laura.

My friend David "Bistro New Albany" Clancy's life quite possibly was saved by this program, and when he contacted me earlier this year, I recommended NABC's participation in the event. Perhaps the memo got lost in the tall grass.

Sorry if it offends anyone, but bluntness is merited here: Substance abuse is an occupational hazard of the restaurant industry, period. If you've been part of this business, you know exactly what I mean. Please do what you can to support THP, either by dining out on the 22nd, donating directly, or just helping get the word out.

Restaurants tackle addiction among workers, by Jere Downs (Courier-Journal)

Rampant substance abuse in the restaurant industry has sparked the upcoming “86 Addiction” event, whereby dozens of local eateries will donate 10 percent of their proceeds Wednesday to help The Healing Place.

Baylor for Mayor web site up, fundraiser set for this Thursday.

I'll be selling good books at today's Boomtown Ball fest. If you're downtown, look for us amid the Flea Off booths. In other news ...

The Baylor for Mayor campaign web site is up and evolving.

In the weeks to come, we'll be expanding the web site to include more detailed platform planks.

For those inclined to support the campaign with their pocketbooks (more below), I'm grateful, and the web site includes a link where donations can be made.

Baylor for Mayor

This year, I’m asking you to do something you’ve probably never done before … support an independent candidate for mayor of New Albany. You can help me bring transformative, transparent, and innovative government to our city and together we can start anew in 2016.

We're also having a fundraiser on Thursday, May 28, and you're cordially invited.

Both major party candidates have vowed to raise tens of thousands of dollars to campaign for mayor in 2015. Much of this money will come to them from various PACs, most originating far outside the city limits.

But our campaign is about New Albany, from the grassroots up, and not the top down.

The simple truth is that for us to contest this race independently, and challenge the same old party machines, we're going to need operating capital in order to convey the message. I won't tell you that the fate of civilization rests on a certain donation level. I'd be fibbing, and you wouldn't believe me, anyway.

However, if you agree with me that New Albany can benefit from independent, transformative, transparent, and innovative government, then I'd appreciate your considering a donation to my campaign.

Stop by the gathering on the 28th, or visit the evolving campaign web site, where there is a link for donations. In the weeks to come, we'll be expanding the web site to include detailed platform planks:

Thanks for your attention and support.

My Saturday, Part 1: Chili, brats, beer and Bir at the Vintage Fire Museum in Jeffersonville.

The beer, music and majority of the museum's volunteers came to yesterday's fundraiser from New Albany. As noted, the museum itself is situated in Jeffersonville. I merely note these observations in the service of exceedingly weird history.

--

Drinking Progressively: Let's make it Tuesday evenings, beginning on November 25.

Dan Coffey kicks off his race for Floyd County Commissioner.

Last night, the Culbertson West played host to the opening act in Dan Coffey's quest to topple Mark Seabrook and replace his former council colleague as a Floyd County Commissioner. It was a low-key event, with Stan Robison introducing Coffey, and the candidate making a short ten-minute speech, in which he offered a prelude to what certainly will be the central theme of his campaign: Seabrook's pivotal role in mismanaging county government.

My friends, that's a cogent theme indeed. What's more, it's a point of agreement between Coffey and me, and while it's certainly true that we've legendarily disagreed in the past, and will do so in the future, my present mood reflects the timeless adage: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Seabrook's complete absence of interest in the usurpations and maneuverings of his own health department is a powerful, enduring indictment of his cavalier attitude toward the duties and responsibilities of the executive branch.

Me? I don't find the health department's eagerness to make a mockery of statute all that hilarious, and then there's the defamatory web site photo. Throughout the battle, Seabrook has looked the other way. So has fellow lock-step commissioner Stephen Bush, himself willing to countenance the health department's chicanery while expecting us to believe such negligence is compatible with being Sheriff.

Really? If Dan Coffey can take one of them down, it's good by me. There'll be much more to say as the campaign picks up steam. When I asked Coffey if he would have a platform soon, his reply was yes, and in the interim, he's happy to answer any questions about issues.

Do you have any questions? If so, send them to me through the normal channels.

Kiwanis donation effort underway to help employees of Sam's Food & Spirits.

It is a moving testament to the community's affection for Sam's Food & Spirits that in the wake of the devastating fire there not even 48 hours ago, help for Sam Anderson's employees is quickly being mobilized. I received this last night from Steve LaDuke:

Kiwanis of Historic New Albany announces a Christmas donation account for the employees of Sam's because of their loss, especially during the holidays. Donations can be dropped off at River Valley Bank in Sellersburg, IN or mailed to Kiwanis of Historic New Albany, 2724 Quail Chase Dr., Sellersburg, IN 47172. Checks should be made out to Kiwanis of Historic New Albany with Sam's Christmas Fund in the memo. 100% of the money raised will be donated to the employees of Sam's Food and Spirits.

In addition, there is much chatter among area's restaurant and bar community about a fundraiser of some sort before Christmas. As I learn more, the information will be posted. Below, the newspaper covers the fire and reaction to it.

Community rises up to help New Albany restaurant lost in fire; Sam's Food & Spirits burned down where it stood for 29 years, by Matt Koesters (Paywall Picayune)

NEW ALBANY — New Albany lost an iconic restaurant to fire late Monday night.

While Sam’s Food & Spirits’ location on Charlestown Road — where it stood for 29 years — burned down, the community was quick to rise up in a show of support.

Carnegie Center's 17th annual "A Taste for Art & History" returns on Friday, September 6.

As always, NABC will be there, and for the first time, we'll be offering both samples and full pours of Progressive Pints (cash bar format). This is an excellent event, and readers are strongly encouraged to get aboard.

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Tickets on sale now! Don't miss our 17th annual "A Taste for Art & History" to benefit the Carnegie Center, Inc., which supports Carnegie Center exhibits and programs.

Friday September 6, 2013, 6:30 pm
Tickets $65 per person ($55 museum members); RSVP by September 4 (call 812-944-7336 or click HERE to purchase tickets online)

This year's “A Taste for Art & History” features tastings of world-class beverages including wine, beer and bourbon, and an assortment of delectable foods. In addition to a lively silent auction including artwork, jewelry, wines and many other unique items,  “A Taste for Art & History” also includes a live auction of exceptional items, including:

1) MURDER MYSTERY DINNER FOR 12: This dinner for 12 guests will be held at the Carnegie Center and catered by the inimitable Terri Lynn’s Catering by Design. Actors will lead attendees through a fun whodunit set in the museum.

2) PETE DYE GOLF ROUND & OVERNIGHT AT WEST BADEN: Pack your overnight and golf bag for a short drive to French Lick to enjoy an overnight stay for 2 at the beautiful West Baden Springs Hotel and golf for 2 at Indiana’s premiere Pete Dye golf course on the grounds of the French Lick Resort. A caddy is required and the package is valid on weekends.

3) DINNER FOR 20 AT THE CULBERTSON WEST: Inimitable hosts Carl Holiday and Steve Goodman will welcome 20 of your favorite people for dinner (including wine) at the prestigious and historic Culbertson West in New Albany. This home was built by William S. Culbertson as a wedding gift for his son Samuel and it is now a premiere venue for any special occasion celebration.

4) POWERWHEELS DODGE CHARGER POLICE CRUISER: Your kids or grandkids will love cruising around the neighborhood in this ride-on, kid-sized Dodge Charger Police Cruiser made just for them.

5) PGA WANAMAKER TICKETS AT VALHALLA:  This golf lover’s package includes two (2) week-long passes to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, August 4-10, 2014. The winner of this package will enjoy access to an air conditioned tent and private restrooms.

Tickets are $65 per person ($55 for museum members); please call 812-944-7336 to make a reservation or visit www.carnegiecenter.org/taste.html to make your reservation online via PayPal. Reservations are confirmed only after payment in full and should be made by September 4, 2013. 

Please visit and "like" the Facebook page for "A Taste for Art & History" by clicking HERE. You'll be able to read more about raffle items and silent auction donations as well as the live auction items listed above.

The Carnegie Center, Inc. would like to thank these generous sponsors for their support of this event:

       


Title Sponsor
                                             















Platinum Sponsor

Diamond Sponsors Duke Energy, Horseshoe Southern Indiana, Kraft Funeral Service, MainSource Bank, Martin Financial Group, Neace Lukens - Rick Zoeller, and Owings Patterns;Bronze Sponsors Aebersold Florist, Master of Mixes, Judge J. Terrence & Peggy Cody, First Harrison Bank, Friend of the Carnegie, General Mills, Inc. New Albany Plant, John G. Brinkworth, Inc., Hornblower Marine Services, Keg Liquors, Koetter Construction Inc., Mainstream Investment Advisors, LLC, News and Tribune, Nu Yale Cleaners, Palmer Thompson Law, LLC, River Valley Financial Bank, Samtec, and the Law Office of Nick Stein; and In Kind Sponsors Flanagan Landscaping and Design, Inc., Voluforms Printing, Zach Stewart, Harritt Group, Inc., and Terri Lynn's Catering by Design, Inc.

*To allow time for clean-up following the event, the Carnegie Center will open at 1:00 pm on Saturday September 7, 2013.

Thank you and we hope to see you on September 6!

Laura Wilkins, Director of Marketing & Outreach

Heard it through the grapevine: This year's Extrapolative New Albany.

I swear that if the idea had occurred to me in time, I'd have hired Steve Price to perform karaoke for our June 20 yard party. Never was Lynyrd Skynyrd so solely missed as last Thursday evening.

We established a joyful dissident's perimeter in Sandra's yard. How fortunate for us that her house adjoined the location of this year's Exclusively New Albany.

The view was peachy. We likened it to perching on a rooftop opposite Wrigley Field and peeking in on a baseball game while drinking one's own, far superior beer.

Everything about the bicentennial edition of Exclusionary New Albany purportedly was "local," save for the multinational beers and wines being vended from the bar. It's too bad such a beautiful setting as Larry Ricke's home was victim to such conceptual futility as Bud Light and Beringer, but it's what always happens when small cabals (England kniggets?) exercise control, and others, who are perfectly well-meaning, permit them to do so.

Come to think of it, "cabal" could be referring to the Floyd County Health Department, which visited last Thursday's DNA party. Shoes do fit, after all.

Ken Pyle Medicine Money: It's time to step up and give Ken a hand.

Ken Pyle is a New Albany resident and longtime owner/operator of the Rudyard Kipling in Louisville. He's a legend, an icon, and universally adored in the food, drink and entertainment communities. I'd heard he was ill, and now there's a way to be of assistance when he needs it most. Verily, Ken has provided the metro area with uncounted good times, but more importantly, so many good vibes; believe me, the Rud's been a labor of love, and not a license to print money. Consider a donation, and spread the word.

KenPyleMedicineMoney

Family and friends of Ken Pyle have set up a fundraising campaign to help with uncovered medication costs. Please show your support!

Ken Pyle is a prince of positivity. Whether it be with his family, his friends, his church or his one-of-a-kind establishment The Rudyard Kipling in Louisville, KY, Ken has always emphasized joy and peacefulness in all things. Recently, Ken was hospitalized with an infection caused by complications with his knee replacements. He has had 2 successful surgeries but still suffers from the infection that spread to other parts of his body. Ken has Medicaid which covers his doctor bills, hospitalization, and what at the time of this campaign looks to be 6 weeks in nursing home, but his very costly medication is not covered. This campaign is raising funds for this.

Nash: "I just had to get a little creative."

I may be a complete joke, but I know a good column when I read it.

NASH: Give what you can, by Matt Nash

 ... Seven years ago, I decided that I would do what I could for a charity. I don’t have a lot of money to make much of a difference, but I do have some time and some talents that can be used for good instead of evil. Over the years, I have developed a few different ways to help raise money for the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics. This year was my most successful in collecting donations — I just had to get a little creative.

On October 4, business formal wear and 200 smackers will render you Crutchfelt.

Civic embarrassment: Bicentennial Commission goes mercenary, disses localism. (December 27, 2011)

 ... If the “official” bicentennial celebration is going to be the same old white-bread-and-Budweiser karaoke show, it’s time for the creative class to get to work on the underground version.

What we need: The New Albany Bicentennial Writers' Project.

Books don’t seem to matter as much as they used to, and so it was instructive to witness a generally annoyed reaction to the Bicentennial commission’s non-transparent decision (itself so indicative of the city’s generational tendencies) to ingloriously import a freelancer from Tennessee to “write the book” on New Albany.

Both here, at the newspaper and on Facebook, savvy readers immediately grasped the obvious: It makes no sense to employ a freelancer from afar when the writers we already have can do the job.

New Albany’s history reads like any other city’s record, in the sense that it boasts the sublime and the ridiculous in roughly equal measure. The commission’s aim in producing a coffee table book for fund-raising purposes undoubtedly is to render the standard, glowing and heroic account of numerous bearded white folks defying the odds to raise a city from the flood plain – when, of course, it would have been far more sensible of them to leave the bottomland be and place it on the non-tubercular hillside.

Respectable history is one thing, and daily life something else entirely. To me, the ideal Bicentennial book would be a written snapshot of New Albany at 200, looking back and ahead, inclusive of a number of perspectives, and unafraid both to celebrate the victories and to dissect the warts. 

What is needed is a New Albany Bicentennial Writers' Project (BWP), with a goal of producing “The People’s History of New Albany”, nodding toward historians like the late Howard Zinn, and his life’s work of balancing the talking points of officialdom. New Albany is a place filled with numerous instructive and entertaining stories, most of which would have no place in the Babbitt History of New Albany (thank you, Sinclair Lewis). That’s all the more reason to pursue them.

Know from the very start that this is going to be hard, hard work. First, what are the major themes in the New Albany historical narrative worthy of examination? Who’ll be doing the writing, and when is the work due? How do we pay for it, with local government already stating its inexplicable preference for the “infallible fatherland version” of the past? 

Well, I’m willing to put in the time, and as for the money ... we'll figure it out.

Let them have their “official” volume. Conversely, let’s aim to create a thought-provoking counterweight. Who knows? It might turn into a permanent feature of the New Albanian landscape.

Read about the BBQ fundraiser for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate Association), coming this Sunday.

Kentuckiana BBQ battle and CASA fundraiser set for Sunday in Jeffersonville, by Steve Coomes (Insider Louisville).

The Urban Fusion Community Garden needs your support.

Following is a statement of progress currently being made toward realizing a community garden on Culbertson Avenue, as submitted by chief organizer Michele Finn, who also notes Urban Fusion's fund-raising needs to get its opening phase under way. NABC will be donating $200 toward this effort; I'll get it to the bank this week, and I've adjusted Michele's numbers to reflect this donation. 

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The Urban Fusion Community Garden has been pricing raised beds. The best price we have found is from Youth Build in Louisville at $170 each for cedar. That is special pricing for a non-profit organization. The turn around time is two weeks. Our planting season starts in three!

"Our mission is to capitalize on the positive energy of young adults by helping them rebuild their communities and their own lives with a commitment to work, education, responsibility, and family.

YouthBuild aides unemployed and undereducated young people, ages 16 to 24, build affordable housing for homeless and low-income families in their own communities.

They split their time between the construction site and the classroom, where they earn their GED or high school diploma, learn to be community leaders, prepare for jobs or college."

We have had $575 donated thus far with a goal of $1,700 for raised beds which leaves us needing $1,125 for this project, which would estimate to about 60 people donating $20 each. All donations are tax deductible and can be made to Keep New Albany Clean and Green. They can be mailed to me (Michele Finn) at 2405 Beeler Street, New Albany 47150, or taken to Your Community Bank.

Here are reasons for a community garden, as given by the American Community Garden Association. I'll admit that I probably could come up with some better sounding ones, but I had a family wedding last night, cooking for Easter today, and I have to play Easter Bunny tonight. It's a busy weekend. But these are good reasons and it is a legit organization, even if it is a little bland. The garden itself will not be bland.

Preserves Green Space
Reduces Crime
Social Interaction
Encourages Self-Reliance
Beautifies Neighborhoods
Produces Nutritious Food
Reduces Family Food Budgets
Conserves Resources

I will add that the average vegetable from the grocery travels 1.500 miles. That's a lot a petro.